Outlook man draws 5-year sentence in child pornography case

Nearly four months after the initial investigation of a child pornography case was brought to the attention of authorities, Paul Brian Graves, 41, of Outlook has been sentenced to serve five years in prison.

Yakima County Sheriff's Office Chief of Detectives Stewart Graham said the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notified Kennewick police of internet child pornography in the area on April 24 of this year.

The center had been provided information that child pornography had been uploaded to a website. The center looked into the information and discovered the internet service provider (ISP) was located in Kennewick, according to Graham.

But, that ISP was subleased to Quicktel in Grandview. He said the company cooperated with authorities and provided the name of the subscriber, who was discovered to be Graves.

The Yakima County Sheriff's Office was provided the information obtained by the Kennewick Police Department in May and served a search warrant on Graves' Dekker Road home near Outlook May 20.

Yakima County Deputy Prosecutor Quinn Rosborough said a 12"x12" plastic container of compact discs was found at the home. Graves admitted to Yakima County Sheriff's deputies the discs contained photographs of young boys depicted in a sexually explicit manner. He also admitted four banker boxes found in the home contained photo albums of young boys.

"The boys appear to be between the ages of 9 and 14," said Rosborough.

Graves was taken into custody on May 20 and a preliminary hearing was held May 21.

On that date his bail was set at $100,000, which was reduced to $50,000 on July 13.

"This is one of our quicker cases because Graves plead guilty before an omnibus hearing could be held," said Rosborough, adding a guilty plea was entered July 1.

She said the standard sentence for Graves' crime is 31-41 months, but it is believed that he opted for the maximum penalty due to discussions the Yakima County Prosecutor's Office were conducting with the federal government regarding the case.

The photos, said Rosborough, are believed to all have been obtained over the internet and she said the identities of the victims have not been made.

"None of these photos were obtained because of direct contact," she assured, stating the prosecutor's office doesn't have reason to believe any of the victims are from Yakima County.

In addition to the 60 months sentence, Graves has been ordered to pay $1,400 in attorney fees and other costs associated with the case.

"He will also have to pay for his jail time," Rosborough added, stating an exact dollar amount is not available.